Aaron Montgomery Ward
Encyclopedia
Aaron Montgomery Ward was an American
businessman notable for the invention of mail order
.
The mail-order industry was started by Aaron Montgomery Ward in 1872 in Chicago. Ward, a young traveling salesman of dry goods, was concerned over the plight of many rural Midwest Americans
who were, he thought, being overcharged and under-served by many of the small town retailers on whom they had to rely for their general merchandise. Ward continues to be described as the protector of Grant Park
.
, New Jersey
. When he was about nine years old, his father, Sylvester Ward, moved the family to Niles, Michigan
, where Aaron attended public schools. He was one of a large family, which at that time was far from wealthy. When he was fourteen, he was apprenticed to a trade to help support the family. According to his brief memoirs, he first earned 25 cents per day at a cutting machine in a barrel stave factory, and then stacking brick in a kiln at 30 cents a day.
Energy and ambition drove him to seek employment in the town of St. Joseph
, a market for outlying fruit orchards, where he went to work in a shoe store. This was the initial step toward the project that later sent his name across the United States
. Being a fair salesman, within nine months he was engaged as a salesman in a general country store at six dollars per month plus board, a considerable salary at the time. He rose to become head clerk and general manager and remained at this store for three years. By the end of those three years, his salary was one hundred dollars a month plus his board. He left for a better job in a competing store, where he worked another two years. In this period, Ward learned retailing.
& Co. He worked for Field for two years and then joined the wholesale dry-goods business of Wills, Greg & Co. In tedious rounds of train trips to southern communities, hiring rigs at the local stables, driving out to the crossroads stores and listening to the complaints of the back-country proprietors and their rural customers, he conceived a new merchandising technique: direct mail sales to country people. It was a time when rural consumers longed for the comforts of the city, yet all too often were victimized by monopolists and overcharged by the costs of many middlemen required to bring manufactured products to the countryside. The quality of merchandise also was suspect and the hapless farmer had no recourse in a caveat emptor
economy. Ward shaped a plan to buy goods at low cost for cash. By eliminating intermediaries, with their markups and commissions, and drastically cutting selling costs, he could sell goods to people, however remote, at appealing prices. He then invited them to send their orders by mail and delivered the purchases to their nearest railroad station. The only thing he lacked was capital.
, Ward persevered. In August 1872, with two fellow employees and a total capital of $1,600 he formed Montgomery Ward & Company
. He rented a small shipping room on North Clark Street and published the world's first general merchandise mail-order catalog with 163 products listed. It is said that in 1880, Aaron Montgomery Ward himself initially wrote all catalog copy. When the business grew and department heads wrote merchandise descriptions, he still went over every line of copy to be certain that it was accurate.
The following year, both of Ward's partners left him, but he hung on. Later, Thorne, his future brother-in-law, joined him in his business. This was the turning point for the young company, which grew and prospered. Soon the catalog, frequently reviled and even burned publicly by rural retailers who had been cheating the farmers for so many years, became known fondly as the "Wish Book" and was a favorite in households all across America.
Ward's catalog soon was copied by other enterprising merchants, most notably Richard Warren Sears, who mailed his first general catalog in 1896. Others entered the field, and by 1971 catalog sales of major U.S. firms exceeded more than $250 million in postal revenue. Although today the Sears Tower
in Chicago is the United States's tallest building, there was a time when Montgomery Ward's headquarters was similarly distinguished. The Montgomery Ward Tower, on the corner of Michigan Avenue
and Madison Street
in Chicago, reigned as a major tourist attraction in the early-1900s.
as a public park. Grant Park has been protected since 1836 by "forever open, clear and free" legislation that has been affirmed by four previous Illinois Supreme Court rulings. Ward twice sued the city of Chicago to force it to remove buildings and structures from Grant Park and to keep it from building new ones. Ward is known by some as the "watch dog of the lake front" for his preservationist efforts. As a result, the city has what are termed the Montgomery Ward height restrictions on buildings and structures in Grant Park. However, Crown Fountain
and the 139 feet (42.4 m) Jay Pritzker Pavilion
were exempt from the height restriction because they were classified as works of art
and not buildings or structures. Some say the Pavilion is described as a work of art to dodge the protections established by Ward who is said to continue to rule and protect Grant Park from his grave. Daniel Burnham's
famous 1909 Burnham Plan
eventually preserved Grant Park and the entire Chicago lakefront.
The Montgomery Ward catalog's place in history was assured when the Grolier Club
, a society of bibliophiles in New York
, exhibited it in 1946 alongside Webster's dictionary as one of the hundred books with the most influence on life and culture of the American people.
A bronze busts honoring Ward and seven other industry magnates stand between the Chicago River
and the Merchandise Mart
in downtown Chicago
, Illinois
and a smaller version of that portrait bust is located in Grant Park
.
The Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners recently named a new park in honor of A. Montgomery Ward. It is located at 630 N. Kingsbury Street, only a few short blocks away from the old Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalog House Building at 600 W. Chicago Avenue, Chicago.
Forbes magazine readers and editors ranked Aaron Montgomery Ward as the 16th most influential businessman of all time.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman notable for the invention of mail order
Mail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
.
The mail-order industry was started by Aaron Montgomery Ward in 1872 in Chicago. Ward, a young traveling salesman of dry goods, was concerned over the plight of many rural Midwest Americans
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
who were, he thought, being overcharged and under-served by many of the small town retailers on whom they had to rely for their general merchandise. Ward continues to be described as the protector of Grant Park
Grant Park (Chicago)
Grant Park, with between the downtown Chicago Loop and Lake Michigan, offers many different attractions in its large open space. The park is generally flat. It is also crossed by large boulevards and even a bed of sunken railroad tracks...
.
Early years
Aaron Montgomery Ward was born on February 17, 1843, in ChathamChatham, New Jersey
Chatham refers to two neighboring municipalities in Morris County, New Jersey – Chatham Borough and Chatham Township. The two are separate municipalities, the first a municipality that was settled in 1710 as a colonial English village in the Province of New Jersey...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. When he was about nine years old, his father, Sylvester Ward, moved the family to Niles, Michigan
Niles, Michigan
Niles is a city in Berrien and Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near South Bend, Indiana. The population was 11,600 at the 2010 census. It is the greater populated of two principal cities of and included in the Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a...
, where Aaron attended public schools. He was one of a large family, which at that time was far from wealthy. When he was fourteen, he was apprenticed to a trade to help support the family. According to his brief memoirs, he first earned 25 cents per day at a cutting machine in a barrel stave factory, and then stacking brick in a kiln at 30 cents a day.
Energy and ambition drove him to seek employment in the town of St. Joseph
St. Joseph, Michigan
St. Joseph is a city in the US state of Michigan. It was incorporated as a village in 1834 and as a city in 1891. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,789. It lies on the shore of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the St. Joseph River, about east-northeast of Chicago. It is the county...
, a market for outlying fruit orchards, where he went to work in a shoe store. This was the initial step toward the project that later sent his name across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Being a fair salesman, within nine months he was engaged as a salesman in a general country store at six dollars per month plus board, a considerable salary at the time. He rose to become head clerk and general manager and remained at this store for three years. By the end of those three years, his salary was one hundred dollars a month plus his board. He left for a better job in a competing store, where he worked another two years. In this period, Ward learned retailing.
Field Palmer & Later Years
In 1865, Ward located in Chicago, worked for Case and Sobin, a lamp house. He traveled for them, and sold goods on commission for a short time. Chicago was the center of the wholesale dry-goods trade, and in the 1860s Ward joined the leading dry-goods house, Field Palmer & Leiter, forerunner of Marshall FieldMarshall Field
Marshall Field was founder of Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores.-Life and career:...
& Co. He worked for Field for two years and then joined the wholesale dry-goods business of Wills, Greg & Co. In tedious rounds of train trips to southern communities, hiring rigs at the local stables, driving out to the crossroads stores and listening to the complaints of the back-country proprietors and their rural customers, he conceived a new merchandising technique: direct mail sales to country people. It was a time when rural consumers longed for the comforts of the city, yet all too often were victimized by monopolists and overcharged by the costs of many middlemen required to bring manufactured products to the countryside. The quality of merchandise also was suspect and the hapless farmer had no recourse in a caveat emptor
Caveat emptor
Caveat emptor is Latin for "Let the buyer beware". Generally, caveat emptor is the property law doctrine that controls the sale of real property after the date of closing.- Explanation :...
economy. Ward shaped a plan to buy goods at low cost for cash. By eliminating intermediaries, with their markups and commissions, and drastically cutting selling costs, he could sell goods to people, however remote, at appealing prices. He then invited them to send their orders by mail and delivered the purchases to their nearest railroad station. The only thing he lacked was capital.
Montgomery Ward mailing catalog
None of Ward's friends or business acquaintances joined in his enthusiasm for his revolutionary idea. Although his idea was generally considered to border on lunacy and his first inventory was destroyed by the Great Chicago FireGreat Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying about in Chicago, Illinois. Though the fire was one of the largest U.S...
, Ward persevered. In August 1872, with two fellow employees and a total capital of $1,600 he formed Montgomery Ward & Company
Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
. He rented a small shipping room on North Clark Street and published the world's first general merchandise mail-order catalog with 163 products listed. It is said that in 1880, Aaron Montgomery Ward himself initially wrote all catalog copy. When the business grew and department heads wrote merchandise descriptions, he still went over every line of copy to be certain that it was accurate.
The following year, both of Ward's partners left him, but he hung on. Later, Thorne, his future brother-in-law, joined him in his business. This was the turning point for the young company, which grew and prospered. Soon the catalog, frequently reviled and even burned publicly by rural retailers who had been cheating the farmers for so many years, became known fondly as the "Wish Book" and was a favorite in households all across America.
Ward's catalog soon was copied by other enterprising merchants, most notably Richard Warren Sears, who mailed his first general catalog in 1896. Others entered the field, and by 1971 catalog sales of major U.S. firms exceeded more than $250 million in postal revenue. Although today the Sears Tower
Sears Tower
Sears' optimistic growth projections were not met. Competition from its traditional rivals continued, with new competition by retailing giants such as Kmart, Kohl's, and Wal-Mart. The fortunes of Sears & Roebuck declined in the 1970s as the company lost market share; its management grew more...
in Chicago is the United States's tallest building, there was a time when Montgomery Ward's headquarters was similarly distinguished. The Montgomery Ward Tower, on the corner of Michigan Avenue
Michigan Avenue (Chicago)
Michigan Avenue is a major north-south street in Chicago which runs at 100 east south of the Chicago River and at 132 East north of the river from 12628 south to 950 north in the Chicago street address system...
and Madison Street
Madison Street (Chicago)
Madison Street is a major east-west street in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to human intervention, the Chicago River emptied into Lake Michigan at the present day intersection of Madison Street and Michigan Avenue....
in Chicago, reigned as a major tourist attraction in the early-1900s.
Public Life: The Fight for Grant Park
Ward fought for the poor people's access to Chicago's lakefront. In 1906 he campaigned to preserve Grant ParkGrant Park (Chicago)
Grant Park, with between the downtown Chicago Loop and Lake Michigan, offers many different attractions in its large open space. The park is generally flat. It is also crossed by large boulevards and even a bed of sunken railroad tracks...
as a public park. Grant Park has been protected since 1836 by "forever open, clear and free" legislation that has been affirmed by four previous Illinois Supreme Court rulings. Ward twice sued the city of Chicago to force it to remove buildings and structures from Grant Park and to keep it from building new ones. Ward is known by some as the "watch dog of the lake front" for his preservationist efforts. As a result, the city has what are termed the Montgomery Ward height restrictions on buildings and structures in Grant Park. However, Crown Fountain
Crown Fountain
Crown Fountain is an interactive work of public art and video sculpture featured in Chicago's Millennium Park, which is located in the Loop community area. Designed by Catalan artist Jaume Plensa and executed by Krueck and Sexton Architects, it opened in July 2004. The fountain is composed of a...
and the 139 feet (42.4 m) Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Jay Pritzker Pavilion, also known as Pritzker Pavilion or Pritzker Music Pavilion, is a bandshell in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the south side of Randolph Street and east of the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan...
were exempt from the height restriction because they were classified as works of art
Work of art
A work of art, artwork, art piece, or art object is an aesthetic item or artistic creation.The term "a work of art" can apply to:*an example of fine art, such as a painting or sculpture*a fine work of architecture or landscape design...
and not buildings or structures. Some say the Pavilion is described as a work of art to dodge the protections established by Ward who is said to continue to rule and protect Grant Park from his grave. Daniel Burnham's
Daniel Burnham
Daniel Hudson Burnham, FAIA was an American architect and urban planner. He was the Director of Works for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He took a leading role in the creation of master plans for the development of a number of cities, including Chicago and downtown Washington DC...
famous 1909 Burnham Plan
Burnham Plan
The Burnham Plan is a popular name for the 1909 Plan of Chicago, co-authored by Daniel Burnham and Edward H. Bennett. It recommended an integrated series of projects including new and widened streets, parks, new railroad and harbor facilities, and civic buildings...
eventually preserved Grant Park and the entire Chicago lakefront.
Legacy
Montgomery Ward died in 1913, at the age of 69. His wife bequeathed a large portion of the estate to Northwestern University and other educational institutions. Despite the collapse of its catalog and department stores in 2001, Montgomery Ward & Co. still adheres to the once unheard philosophy of "satisfaction guaranteed" as an online retailer.The Montgomery Ward catalog's place in history was assured when the Grolier Club
Grolier Club
The Grolier Club is a private club and society of bibliophiles in New York City. Founded in January 1884, it is the oldest existing bibliophilic club in North America. The club is named after Jean Grolier de Servières, Viscount d'Aguisy, Treasurer General of France, whose library was famous; his...
, a society of bibliophiles in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, exhibited it in 1946 alongside Webster's dictionary as one of the hundred books with the most influence on life and culture of the American people.
A bronze busts honoring Ward and seven other industry magnates stand between the Chicago River
Chicago River
The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of the same name, including its center . Though not especially long, the river is notable for being the reason why Chicago became an important location, as the link between the Great Lakes and...
and the Merchandise Mart
Merchandise Mart
When opened in 1930, the Merchandise Mart or the Merch Mart, located in the Near North Side, Chicago, Illinois, was the largest building in the world with of floor space. Previously owned by the Marshall Field family, the Mart centralized Chicago's wholesale goods business by consolidating vendors...
in downtown Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and a smaller version of that portrait bust is located in Grant Park
Grant Park
Grant Park may refer to:Parks*Grant Park , Georgia, USA*Grant Park , Illinois, USA*Grant Park , Oregon, USACommunities*Grant Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, a neighborhood*Grant Park, Illinois, USA, a village...
.
The Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners recently named a new park in honor of A. Montgomery Ward. It is located at 630 N. Kingsbury Street, only a few short blocks away from the old Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalog House Building at 600 W. Chicago Avenue, Chicago.
Forbes magazine readers and editors ranked Aaron Montgomery Ward as the 16th most influential businessman of all time.